10 Best Gateway Anime
9. Fairy Tail
Sometimes it's best to keep things simple, and in the case of many highly successful anime, that is just what they do. Introduce many likeable characters, put them in situations that will result in massive fight sequences, lather, rinse and repeat. One Piece's 981-episode (and counting!) legacy proves sometimes all a viewer wants is an easily digestible show they can pick up and enjoy.
Fairy Tail offers everything one could want from one of these shows while managing to keep both the fan service and crass humour to a relative minimum. While viewers can, in theory, start with any arc, it is probably best to at least watch the first few episodes as they do a pretty good job of setting up the main cast, the guild system and the general rules of the world.
The world of Earth-land is home to numerous guilds where wizards apply their magic for paid job requests. The show features an oddball assortment of characters from the titular Fairy Tail guild but mainly focuses on the wild adventures of Natsu the Fire Dragon Mage, Lucy the Celestial Spirit Wizard, Gray the Ice-Make Mage, and all around badass Ezra.